During the 1950s, with the Cold War looming, military planners sought to know more about how to keep fighting forces fit and capable in the harsh Alaskan environment. In 1956 and 1957, the U.S. Air Force's former Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory conducted a study of the role of the thyroid in human acclimatization to cold. To measure thyroid function under various conditions, the researchers administered a radioactive medical trace, Iodine-131, to Alaska Natives and white military personnel; based on the study results, the researchers determined that the thyroid did not play a significant role in human acclimatization to cold.
When this study of thyroid function was revisited at a 1993 conference on the Cold War legacy in the Arctic, serious questions were raised about the appropriateness of the activity—whether it posed risks to the people involved and whether the research had been conducted within the bounds of accepted guidelines for research using human participants. In particular, there was concern over the relatively large proportion of Alaska Natives used as subjects and whether they understood the nature of the study. This book evaluates the research in detail, looking at both the possible health effects of Iodine-131 administration in humans and the ethics of human subjects research. This book presents conclusions and recommendations and is a significant addition to the nation's current reevaluation of human radiation experiments conducted during the Cold War.
- The Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory's Thyroid Function Study: A Radiological Risk and Ethical Analysis
- Copyright
- Preface
- Contents
- Executive Summary
- DESCRIPTION OF THE AAL THYROID FUNCTION STUDY
- HEALTH EFFECTS OF I ADMINISTRATION IN HUMANS
- THE ETHICS OF HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH
- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- 1 Introduction
- THE COMMITTEE'S CHARGE
- THE AAL AND THE THYROID FUNCTION STUDY
- CONDUCT OF THE STUDY: SAMPLE SIZE AND DISTRIBUTION
- Alaska Natives
- Army and Air Force Servicemen
- CONDUCT OF THE STUDY: SUBJECT SELECTION
- Wainwright
- Anaktuvuk Pass
- Fort Yukon
- Arctic Village
- Point Hope
- Military Testing
- STUDY RESULTS
- THE COMMITTEE'S METHODS
- Written Information
- Interview and Public Hearing Information
- COMMON THEMES FROM THE PUBLIC SESSION
- 2 Health Effects of I Administration in Humans
- RADIOLOGICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AAL STUDY
- OVERVIEW OF EPIDEMIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE REGARDING RADIATION-INDUCED THYROID CANCER
- CALCULATIONS OF RADIATION RISK
- RISK ESTIMATES FOR THE AAL STUDY
- SIGNIFICANCE OF CALCULATED RISKS OF RADIATION-INDUCED THYROID CANCER
- RADIATION GUIDELINES FOR I USAGE-THEN AND NOW
- 1957 Guidelines
- Current Guidelines
- THE EVOLUTION OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF RADIATION HEALTH EFFECTS
- 3 The Ethics of Human Subjects Research
- BACKGROUND
- Evolution of Ethical Standards
- The Nuremberg Code
- After the Code
- The Evolution of Modern Federal Regulations
- The Nuremberg Code as Applied to AAL Research in 1955-1957
- The Common Rule and the AAL Research: Looking Back from the 1990s
- CONCLUSION
- 4 Conclusions and Recommendations
- References
- Appendix A Thyroid Function in Health and Disease
- THE HUMAN THYROID
- ROLE OF IODINE IN THYROID FUNCTION AND DIAGNOSTIC TESTS
- URINARY AND SALIVARY EXCRETION STUDIES
- CONVERSION RATIO AND PLASMA LEVELS OF PBI
- RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN THYROID FUNCTION
- UTILIZATION OF I AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL
- CONTRAINDICATIONS TO THE USE OF I
- Appendix B Summary of the Public Session
- Appendix C Thyroid Radiation Dose Estimates for I as Determined by the Radiation Internal Dose Information Center, Oak...
- Appendix D SECRETARY OF DEFENSE Washington
- Appendix E Informed Consent Elements of Disclosure
- Appendix F Principles for the Conduct of Research in the Arctic
- INTRODUCTION
- IMPLEMENTATION
- PUBLICATIONS
- Appendix G Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
- Appendix H Glossary
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